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July 24, 2023Detroit, MI, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ERO Detroit arrests unlawfully present Honduran citizen facing proposed murder charges in his home country

DETROIT — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Honduras in Adrian, Michigan, on July 11 who is wanted in his home country for proposal to commit murder.

“ERO Detroit officers are charged with enforcing our nation’s immigration laws,” said ERO Detroit Field Office Director Robert Lynch. “Foreign fugitives in our communities pose a serious threat to public safety and my office will continue to seek these offenders out and ensure that justice is served.”

The 21-year-old noncitizen unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location. U.S. Border Patrol encountered him Dec. 25, 2021, near Hidalgo, Texas, served him with a notice to appear, and transferred him to ICE custody.

On May 16, 2022, an immigration judge in Houston, Texas, granted his request for bond and he was released June 8, 2022.

On July 5, 2023, the ERO Honduras Vetted SAFE Unit provided ERO Detroit with information regarding the noncitizen’s wanted status and his possible location.

ERO Detroit served the Honduran national with a warrant of deportation during his July 11 arrest and detained him in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.

Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal. Once a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers may carry out the removal.

ERO officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws.

In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

For more news and information on how the ERO Detroit field office carries out its immigration enforcement mission, follow us on Twitter @ERODetroit.

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